Desertfest London
DesertFest London is one of several annual festivals which run under the DesertFest banner. Each year, the festival is a three day event showcasing bands from the whole stoner rock scene. The festival takes place in the Camden area of London, England. Like its German counterpart, the first event ran in 2012The DesertFest About (cache from May 13th 2015), accessed June 14th 2015. Background DesertFest London was first conceived of by Reece Tee and Jake Farey of the music promotions company Desertscene.The Heavy Chronicles Interview with Reece Tee of DesertFest, accessed 15th June 2015 Desertscene started organising shows in 2009, the first of which was Truckfighters. After gaining experience promoting individual bands and hearing the people at those shows' desire for a UK festival like Roadburn, they decided to create DesertFest. The first festival was officially announced on 26th July 2011 via a Facebook post,The DesertFest Facebook announcement of the inaugural DesertFest, accessed 16th June 2015 but posters advertising the festival were placed at London's High Voltage Festival.The DesertFest Facebook poster for first DesertFest London seen at High Voltage Festival, accessed 16th June 2015 Early on in development of the first edition of the festival, the team behind DesertFest partnered with Sound of Liberation to make a German equivalent, DesertFest Berlin. The first band announcement for DesertFest London took place on 24th October 2011.The DesertFest Facebook first band announcement, accessed 16th June 2015 The first edition of the event took place in Camden, London between 6th and 8th of April 2012.The Sleeping Shaman DesertFest announcement, accessed 16th June 2012. The venues for the first edition of DesertFest London were The Underworld, Purple Turtle and The Black Heart. The event has remained annual, taking place within the months of April and May. Though still taking place in Camden, venues have differed throughout the years, with larger venues, such as The Electric Ballroom and Koko.The ObeliskDesertfest London 2015 Adds..., accessed 16th June 2015 The event will return for a 5th year in 2016, taking place from the 29th April to 1st May.DesertFest London FacebookPhoto announcement of 2016 edition and dates, accessed 14th June 2015 2012 The first edition of DesertFest London took place on the 6th, 7th and 8th of April 2012. The venues of this first DesertFest London were The Underworld, Purple Turtle and The Black Heart, all situated in the Camden area of London. The first bands were announced on 24th October 2011 and were Orange Goblin, Church of Misery, Truckfighters, Valient Thorr and Gentlemans Pistols.The DesertFest Facebook First band announcement of 2012, accessed 16th June 2015 The headliners for the event were Karma To Burn, Orange Goblin and Corrosion of Conformity.Desertscene about, accessed 16th June 2015 The festival played host to over 50 bands and sold out before the event. 2013 The second DesertFest London took place on the 26th, 27th and 28th April 2013.The Obelisk Lowrider added to London DesertFest, accessed 17th June 2015 The event was held in four venues; Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, Jazz Cafe and The Black Heart. In addition to the main venues, 2013's edition saw the introduction of the Vans Store Stage, hosting intimate and acoustic sets.The Sleeping Shaman Desertfest London 2013 Rocks Vans Stores, accessed 17th June 2015 The first band announced for the festival were Lowrider. The headliners for 2013's event were Fatso Jetson, Unida and Pentagram. The event was notable for bringing about the reunion of the bands Unida, Dozer and Lowrider. All three bands played the Electric Ballroom on the Saturday of the event. 2014 The third DesertFest London took place on the 25th, 26th and 27th April 2014.The Sleeping Shaman DesertFest London 2014 Stage Times and Vans Stage Announced, accessed 17th June 2015 The event was held in three venues; Electric Ballroom, The Underworld and The Black Heart. In addition to the main venues, the Vans Store once again hosted a handful of acoustic and intimate sets. The first band announced for the event were Black Rainbows on 30th September 2013.The DesertFest Facebook Black Rainbows announcement, accessed June 17th 2015 Headliners for 2014's event were Spirit Caravan, Kvelertak and Boris. Spirit Caravan, like several bands from the 2013 event, were encouraged to reform by the DesertFest organisers to play the event. 2015 The fourth DesertFest London ran on the 24th, 25th and 26th April 2015. The Obelisk Sleep to Headline London Desertfest 2015, accessed 17th June 2015 The event was held in six venues of Camden, London; Electric Ballroom, The Underworld, The Black Heart, Jazz Cafe, Purple Turtle and, for the first time, Koko. The first band announced for the event were headliners, Sleep, almost a full year before the festival on May 1st 2014. Joining Sleep as headliners for the event were Red Fang and Eyehategod. The Obelisk Desertfest London 2015: Eyehategod Co-Headlining Saturday, April 25, accessed 17th June 2015. 2015's event also saw dedicated one day stages curated by Metal HammerMetal Hammer ANGEL WITCH, CANCER AND MORE FOR THE METAL HAMMER STAGE AT DESERTFEST, accessed 17th June 2015 and Prog Magazine.Prog DesertFest Prog Stage Times Announced, accessed 17th June 2015 *End of Level Boss were scheduled to play a special reunion set at The Black Heart of Friday, but had to pull out shortly before the festival. They were replaced by Dead Existence.DesertFest London Facebook Dead Existence replace EOLB on Friday, accessed 15th June 2015 2016 DesertFest London 2016 will take place, once again in various venues of Camden, from the 29th April to the 1st May 2016. As of yet, no details of the line-up or specific venues have been released. External Links *Official Website *Facebook *Twitter References Category:Event Category:Festival Category:England Category:London Category:DesertFest